Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It looks like winning debates is a black job!

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

The US Supreme Court is on the ballot in november.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

We’re not going back!

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

The willow is too close to the house.

Biden: Oh no. We’ve upset Big Pharma again.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2016 / Some More Marco Robotio Fun…

Some More Marco Robotio Fun…

by | 225 Comments

This post is in: , ,

…noting that the last/next laugh may be his tomorrow.

Hugh Atkins forwarded news of his latest video styling — and I think you’ll enjoy it:

 

 

There really just isn’t any there, there, beyond an acknowledged gift for delivering memorized lines with some appearance of carbon-based sentience.

 

I’d say this was yet more thread…

Reader Interactions

225Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    TPM

    We have two tracking polls which show a slight downtick for Rubio (ARG and UMass Lowell) and one (CNN/WBUR) which shows a slight uptick. Notably the last is the only one that includes some interviews from today.

  3. 3.

    Renie

    Just saw an Emerson poll putting Bush at 2nd place and Kasich at 3rd. Really don’t want JEB? coming back from the dead.

  5. 5.

    kc

    Haa, that was great.

    Also, Marco has obviously really worked hard on minimizing his lisp. Kudos to him.

  8. 8.

    Renie

    OT anyone know where i can watch the oj simpson movie online? have trouble viewing it on hulu and fox nothing loads

  12. 12.

    Turgidson

    The media was salivating at the chance to replay the 2000 election with Rubio cast as a young, photogenic version of the affable empty suit GWB and Hillary as Al Gore, except even more joyless and prone to lying (claiming she is even when she’s not). David f’n Brooks in particular seemed giddy at the possibility.

    They’re clearly rattled and hedging on that plan right now, but they may yet run with it. It’s probably the only chance they have at a competitive election other than John Kasich somehow becoming the nominee. But Rubio is such a pathetic fraud that he might not be capable of not fucking up, which is pretty much the only qualification necessary for being the beneficiary of a 2000esque media-enabled snow job.

  13. 13.

    Gimlet

    Open Thread – Maybe Interesting
    Crisis brewing?

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-08/houlihan-lokey-sees-growing-pockets-of-distress-in-debt-market

    Houlihan Lokey Inc., the investment bank that has advised on some of the world’s largest bankruptcies, said the volume of restructuring work has reached the highest level since the 2008 credit crisis as struggling companies find it harder to obtain financing.

    “Our total number of active restructuring engagements as of Dec. 31, 2015, is now the highest since the Great Recession, and up over 25 percent from one year ago,” Beiser said.

  14. 14.

    jl

    After watching the dowdy himbo Cruz debate himself, I clicked Trump’s address to the nation.

    I learned that Trump likes waffles drowned in syrup and butter. I like waffles drowned in syrup and butter. The Shrek 1 donkey likes waffles. Trump will get us a great fantastic, the best, deal on waffles.

    I’m for Trump now.

    Sorry Baud! 2016! Brokeback Boomberg. I haven’t heard jack from your campaign about waffles.

  17. 17.

    jl

    @Baud: That reminds me of Kasich

    Heard a clip on the news of his campaign. Kasich says “I’ve had so many Democrats come up to me and say ‘Hey, you make a lot of sense. You are a sensible experienced moderate. Of all the GOP candidates, I’d like you to be the nominee. I won’t vote for you, but I’d like you to be the nominee’ ”

    Did I hear that wrong? Is Kasich a more inept campaigner than Jeb?

  19. 19.

    SIA

    OBUMMER KNOWS WXACTLY WHAT HES DOING! (Sez rich white wife of client who doesn’t know she even KNOWS a liberal)

    “Has everyone lost their ability to see what is happening in the USA?”
    Think about America! Before Obama, there was virtually no visible
    presence of Islam in America.

    All of a sudden, Islam is taught in schools .

    All of a sudden, we must allow prayer rugs everywhere and allow for
    Islamic prayer in schools and businesses.

    All of a sudden, we must stop serving pork in public places and institutions.

    All of a sudden, we are inundated with law suits by Muslims who are
    offended by America. (For God’s sake, they are IN America)

    All of a sudden, we must allow burkas to be worn everywhere even
    though you have no idea who is covered up under them.

    All of a sudden,Muslim training compounds are popping up throughout the USA.This is what is in the plan for Days Inn purchased west of Asheboro,
    and many more like it is happening all over.

    All of a sudden, Muslims are suing employers for being expected to do
    their jobs.

    All of a sudden, all of our aircraft carriers are recalled for
    maintenance by Obama rendering the Atlantic unsupported.

    All of a sudden, our troops are withdrawn from the middle east.

    All of a sudden, there is no money for American poor, disabled
    veterans, jobless Americans, hungry Americans, or displaced Americans,
    but there is endless money for Obama’s refugee programs.

    All of a sudden, Obama fills the Federal Government with Muslims in
    key positions.

    All of a sudden, there is an ammunition shortage in the USA.

    All of a sudden, Americans are threatened by the Federal government
    for complaining about Muslims.

    All of a sudden, the most important thing for Obama to do is disarm
    American Citizens.

    Now, why is it so important for Obama to disarm America? Why? Because
    a disarmed country is ripe for takeover by the Muslim Army that Obama
    has imported into the United States. Nikita Khrushchev, the Russian
    Dictator who visited the USA in the 1950s said the USA could never be
    occupied by any army because of it’s citizen Army. Obama knows this
    fact and is doing everything within his power to disarm our Citizen
    Army. If Obama can’t do it legally, he will abuse his power and take
    every gun from Americans because he knows he must do that to turn the
    USA over to Islam. Be wary and watchful. Obama’s actions speak far
    beyond his words. Obama won’t even say the words “Islamic Terrorist”,
    WHY?”..

    Wake up America.

    PLEASE POST ON YOUR PAGES AND PASS THIS MESSAGE TO FRIENDS AND
    FAMILIES. GOD BLESS AMERICA. LET’S SEE WHAT WE ARE TRULY MADE OF.

  20. 20.

    jl

    @BillinGlendaleCA: See there is a hunger in this country to address breakfast pastry and griddle cake with butter and syrup issues. Only Trump has the guts to address it.

    Edit: note how the GOPers are all ham biscuit and grits and pone when they get down South. And people wonder why they are guaranteed almost 50 percent of the vote.

  22. 22.

    Nate Dawg

    Just saw breaking news on MSNC that FBI is confirming it is investigating Clinton over emails. Wasn’t a whole lot more specific than that but fuck.

  24. 24.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @jl: I gave that up when I did low carb 10 years ago. While I appreciate the buttery sweetness, I can’t go back to my old ways.

  28. 28.

    mapaghimagsik

    @SIA:

    I’m sorry. I’m out of anger over chain email outrage.

    If you post this on five blogs, you’ll be blessed, by the way.

    eta: By out of anger, I mean, my magical bag of fucks is empty.

  31. 31.

    Turgidson

    @Baud:

    Since his debate faceplant probably occurred in part because of tight control run amok, I’m not sure that is very comforting. Hillary is just as capable of hilariously derailing Rubio’s train of thought as Christie was, maybe more so.

  35. 35.

    jl

    @Nate Dawg: Breaking news that Lynch is reaffirming that FBI investigation is free of outside influence, in response to dissemination of an existing FBI communication released through a FOIA request.

    So, I guess that is worth a news story. Watch for explosion of lurid tales from Fox News.

  36. 36.

    JPL

    @SIA: The Presidents speech about Islam and mosques was so powerful.
    If I were quick and witty, I’d mention that Jefferson was called a secret Muslim also. Unfortunately, I’m not quick and witty.

  40. 40.

    goblue72

    @Baud: I am pretty sure the Baud v Bush head-to-head polls favor Baud. If only because a Baud in the hand is worth two in the Bush.

  42. 42.

    Eric U.

    we just gave Hillary money in December and now they are calling us all the time for more money. Sorry, it don’t work that way

  43. 43.

    Applejinx

    @Renie: I do, but I want him running against Bernie, because all the anti-establishment Rs could cross over.

    What I don’t want is Bush Vs. Clinton. This is NOT ‘Groundhog Day’.

  44. 44.

    SIA

    @Baud: I love Obama and wish he would declare martial law to anoint himself king as I’ve been warned, but the upside when he leaves office they’ll have to demonize someone else. Sick, insane, and delusional “opposition”. Gah.

  45. 45.

    Nate Dawg

    @jl: okay but what is the purpose of the investigation. Going on 7 months now. Is it a security review as Clinton states or an actual criminal investigation. Personally I haven’t seen anything awful but I’d rather the whole thing actually be a non-issue than just a non-issue in Dem-world.

  47. 47.

    Applejinx

    @Gimlet: Yes, obviously. Bank of Scotland has also been sounding alarms. Yes, finance is collapsing. The status quo is unsustainable and unbailable.

  49. 49.

    Baud

    @Nate Dawg: my guess is that it’s ass covering. They don’t want to be accused of not looking under every rock when they conclude no one did anything illegal.

  50. 50.

    Turgidson

    @jl:

    Oh boy. Between this news and the report that Mike Bloomberg has publicly confirmed that he’s considering a presidential run, Ron “Severe Dementia” Fournier might die of pleasure overload. His 2nd and 3rd-favorite things to write about (after his trademarked “[x] happened, and it’s both sides’ fault but mostly Obama’s because he can’t lead” column, of course) are Hillary’s emails and swooning over wealthy deficit scolds who think the answer to every question is to cut Social Security (Bloomberg is one of them, I believe).

  52. 52.

    singfoom

    @SIA:

    All of a sudden, all of our aircraft carriers are recalled for maintenance by Obama rendering the Atlantic unsupported.

    Number the one: The Atlantic is an Ocean, supported by the ocean floor.

    Number the two: This is oddly specific and just….well…wrong. 30 seconds of googling gets you this:
    CV Locations

    Just a very odd point with all the other points.

    Why do so many people fall for this fear baiting bullshit?

  53. 53.

    Applejinx

    @Gimlet: Betcher bippy. Officially, it will come as a COMPLETE SURPRISE OMG WFTBBQ.

    If the Bank of Scotland warnings are this public, God knows what they’ve been telling each other at Davos for years. We’re literally the last to hear these warnings, so it’s well and truly upon us at this point.

    Certain economists like say Mark Blyth have been saying this for years, so it depends on who you listen to…

  55. 55.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: I can not reply to Nate, please forward:

    FYWP. keeps eating my comments. Relax, Nate. Yep, the “Top Secret” Emails Were All About Drones We all already know Hillary is the most corrupt person to ever run for President without any body any where ever being able to dig up any dirt that actually sticks… Look, at some point they are going to say that HRC personally ordered global warming.

  57. 57.

    NonyNony

    @Renie:

    Really don’t want JEB? coming back from the dead.

    Are you kidding? Jeb? coming back into second place in NH would be AWESOME.

    If Jeb? takes second place in NH his donors would be wasting more money on him. He’d go into SC attacking Cruz and Rubio, Rubio and Cruz would be attacking him. Trump would be attacking all of them – it would be phenomenal. I might cry.

    None of them would drop out. All four of them would fight on until at least Super Tuesday. And then, Eris and Loki and Coyote and all the other Chaos Gods Be Praised, we could go into the convention with nobody having a clear majority and all four of them insisting that they should be President? It would be amazing.

  60. 60.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    apparently he’s still saying it, right down to “dispel with”

    lexandra Jaffe ‏@ ajjaffe 27m27 minutes ago
    Rubio to @ LesterHoltNBC: “Let’s dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

  61. 61.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Nate Dawg:FYWP I give up. Go read Kevin Drum. Click back to page 2. Read, “Yep, the “Top Secret” Emails Were All About Drones” We all already know Hillary is the most corrupt person to ever run for President without any body any where ever being able to dig up any dirt that actually sticks… Look, at some point they are going to say that HRC personally ordered global warming.

  63. 63.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Nate Dawg: And just for the record, the purpose of the 3 dozen investigations to date is to bury her under a mountain of conjured slime.

  65. 65.

    debbie

    @jl:

    Kasich is the governor of my state. I guarantee you he made up that last sentence in the anecdote he was sharing.

  66. 66.

    Kathleen

    @SIA: Trumps first act as Commandant Hologram would be to host a reality show in which Democrats compete to be the next Rethuglican Demon, followed by a very special episode of Who Wants To Torture My Dad in NBC.

  68. 68.

    Turgidson

    @David *Rafael* Koch:

    I think it was the Super PAC supporting her. And since the candidates have no idea what the Super PACs are doing, we can hardly assume Hillary sent….bwhahahahaha nevermind.

  70. 70.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: I’ve heard that when you’re good, you’re very good. But when you’re bad, you’re even better.

  72. 72.

    jl

    @Nate Dawg: @Turgidson:

    My understanding is that classification bureaucracy is retrospectively re-classifying documents that were sent to HRC and on her server. So far, nothing has been ID’d that was marked classified at the time. But some material was either public info that parallels classified info, or becomes classified when put together with something else in the email, or suspected to be material related from memory that is similar to, and may be from classified info (that is special compartmentalized stuff).

    OK, so now that these things have been re-classified or in some cases newly classified, FBI is looking into whether anything should reasonably have been known to be classified by someone when it was sent. And if so, criminal charges may result.

    This is unnerving I admit. But I don;t see any real new news that came out about it at all today.

  75. 75.

    jl

    @debbie: I take that to mean Ohio Democrats would like to see his ass retired from public life asap. That correct? Or, that there are Democrats in Ohio who would vote for him in the general?

  79. 79.

    Gimlet

    @Applejinx:

    Another panic piece from Reuters dated 39 minutes ago

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-dumped-safe-havens-bank-002035428.html?l=1

    Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) alone sank 9.5 percent as concerns mounted about its ability to maintain bond payments. Late Monday, the German bank said it has “sufficient” reserves to make due payments this year on AT1 securities.

    The cost of insuring bank debt against default also climbed to its highest since late 2013. Borrowing costs in Spain, Portugal and Italy jumped as investors demanded a fatter risk premium over safer German paper, where two-year yields hit record lows at minus 52 basis points.

    “The ‘fear factor’ in markets has morphed from being about an emerging market hard-landing and collapsing oil prices to being about the extent of the slowdown in the developed world and the ability of central banks to reflate asset values yet again,” said analysts at Citi in a note.

    The Bank of Japan’s recent shift to negative rates has fueled concerns that ever-more exotic monetary policy is rapidly reaching the point of diminishing returns.

  81. 81.

    Turgidson

    @jl:

    Ron “Severe Dementia” Fournier does not require actual “news” to be encouraged to write a few more articles about Hillary and her emails. The very existence of an FBI investigation proves that “suspicions remain” that will “dog her campaign” and the “persistent allegations” “are causing concern even among some of her loyalists”… etc. etc. etc. ad fucking nauseum.

    I basically just wrote that insufferable asshole’s column for him. Since the FBI is a wing of Obama’s DOJ, maybe he’ll even work in some word salad about how “Obama can’t lead.”

  83. 83.

    Mandalay

    @Turgidson:

    Hillary is just as capable of hilariously derailing Rubio’s train of thought as Christie was, maybe more so.

    Rubio is dead meat. The robot thing is getting all the attention, but the bigger unsung story was that Christie skewered the myth that Rubio had any accomplishments to run on.

    Rubio might be able to fix the robot thing in the next few weeks, but he won’t be able to do anything about his lack of accomplishments. Not to mention that he opposes abortion for rape victims.

    The Clinton campaign would shred that vile fraudster if he got the nomination. With the exception of Kasich I despise all of the Republican candidates, but Rubio is top of the list – for months the piece of shit has been saying that President Obama has been deliberately destroying America. I wish nothing but misery and humiliation on Rubio. He’s far more than an empty suit. He’s a vile human being.

  84. 84.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    speaking of Kaisch… How hard are Trump and Christie gonna hit this if that second place for JK comes true, and nut-picking aside I can’t see how else he saw this working for him in front of a GOP crowd

    At a town hall in New Hampshire on Monday, an undecided voter told John Kasich that she was having trouble deciding between him, Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders.
    “Isn’t that interesting,” Kasich said, evidently enjoying this affirmation of his cross-over appeal. But then the voter posed a question that suggests her interest in Kasich had less to do with his “independence” than a lack of basic information.
    “So, my question is: Why should I vote for you in the Democratic primary tomorrow?” she asked.
    Instead of informing this voter that he is, in fact, a Republican, the Ohio governor started pitching himself as a happy medium between the self-identified “practical progressive” and democratic socialist.

    He pretty much said he’s to the left of HRC– which I suspect some of our Usual Suspects will agree with

  87. 87.

    debbie

    @jl:

    I cannot imagine any Ohio Democrat voting for Kasich in the general election. Not even labor. After the way he tried to shaft them on SB5 (getting rid of unions), I can’t imagine labor would get behind him. Those guys never forget!

  91. 91.

    David *Rafael* Koch

    @Nate Dawg: it didnt say that.

    it said:

    the Bureau has acknowledged generally that it is working on matters related to former Secretary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server. The FBI has not, however, publicly acknowledged the specific focus, scope, or potential targests of such proceedings.

    That this is being leaked the night before a primary shows you it’s a political ploy.

  93. 93.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    @Peale: heh, as good an explanation as any

    @Baud: the 60% approval rating is frequently cited, but I’ve never checked it out

  95. 95.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    The Dems are very weak in Ohio. They ran a guy (Ed Fitzgerald) and didn’t support him at all (in words or in funds) because (horror!) he drove for 10 years without a driver’s license. I could have won an election against Fitzgerald, and no one knows me!

  98. 98.

    Steve in the ATL

    @SIA:

    All of a sudden, Muslims are suing employers for being expected to do their jobs.

    We get that same shit from our unions every day…I wonder if they’ve gone Muslim….

    This actually sounds like a dog whistle–code for lazy blacks.

  100. 100.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    @Renie: apparently at GOP campaign stops, there are any number of people who think they’re walking in the shoes of Rosa Parks and John Lewis every time they say Merry Christmas

    (Also, I have never seen a Muslim prayer rug, had pork the last two times I ate dinner out, and couldn’t read beyond those)

  103. 103.

    David *Rafael* Koch

    “If I could do it all again I’d eliminate the Supreme Court ruling,” Bush reportedly told CNN host Dana Bash. “This is a ridiculous system we have now where you have campaigns that struggle to raise money directly and they can’t be held accountable for the spending of the super PAC that’s their affiliate.”

    That’s wicked funny. Mr Super Pac himself wants to eliminate Super Pacs because he’s discovered it helps his cash poor competitors stay afloat.

    Law of unintended consequences.

  106. 106.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Kay will know better than I, but as RWNJ as they may be, they will never forgive Kasich. Aside from SB5, he very publicly called the cop who stopped him for speeding an idiot. Whatever the male equivalent of hysteria is, there was a lot of it.

  107. 107.

    Turgidson

    @Jim, Foolish LIteralist:

    Kasich has spent the entire primary running for the nomination of a Republican Party he would prefer to believe exists rather than the actual braindead, poo-flinging mental ward that actually does exist. It’s kinda cute.

    In a reasonable world, Kasich would be the candidate for the right wing loons rather than the purportedly sensible moderate. He actually is moderate compared to Tailgunner Ted and the glitchy beta-version android known as Marco Rubio. And that’s pretty terrifying.

  109. 109.

    muddy

    @Jim, Foolish LIteralist:

    He pretty much said he’s to the left of HRC– which I suspect some of our Usual Suspects will agree with

    At my house, “Usual Suspects” refers to the use of onion carrot and celery in beginning a dish.

    Who here thinks Kasich is to the left of Hillary Clinton? If you have someone specific in mind, please say so.

  110. 110.

    Steve in the ATL

    @muddy:

    Who here thinks Kasich is to the left of Hillary Clinton? If you have someone specific in mind, please say so.

    Ohio is left of New York and DC on a map? Best i can do.

  112. 112.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    @Jim, Foolish LIteralist:

    “dispel with.”

    Such an odd locution. “Dispense with,” yes. Or just “dispel.” But this is just weird, and every time he said it Saturday night, it got just that much weirder.

  113. 113.

    David *Rafael* Koch

    CNN/WMUR —- New Hampshire Poll — Feb 4 thur 8

    Sanders………61%
    Clinton………..35%

    Not much drama. Sanders will be projected the winner the moment the polls close (7PM Eastern).

    The quirky town of Dixville Notch will cast it’s votes at midnight, in about 3 1/2 hours.

  114. 114.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    Tad Devine, whose resume includes getting John Cornyn ( of Goldman Sachs, for those who don’t know) elected governor of New Jersey, on my TV railing against big money and Wall St.

    Again: When is some gonna ask when he regained his virginity?

  115. 115.

    SIA

    @singfoom:

    Why do so many people fall for this fear baiting bullshit?

    Racism IMO. Even with a white president, a Democrat is going to (supposedly) act for the benefit of those other people.

  120. 120.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @raven: Keef or Mick got anything to say about that?

    @debbie: Essentially unopposed sums it up. Fitzgerald kept stepping on his dick to the point that many Dems stayed home in disappointment, though I wasn’t one of them.

  121. 121.

    David *Rafael* Koch

    CNN/WMUR —- New Hampshire Poll — Feb 4 thur 8

    Trump………………31%
    Rubio……………….17%
    Canadian Cruz..14%
    Kasich………………10%
    ¿Jeb?………………..7% ◄
    Fiorina……………….5%
    Christie………………4%
    Carson………………3%

    We get to hear Trump call everyone looooosers tomorrow nite.

  122. 122.

    Kay

    @Jim, Foolish LIteralist:

    Okay, but the problem isn’t Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager (who does seem sort of slippery although I was never aware of him before this).

    This is David Axelrod, today:

    When the exact same problems crop up in separate campaigns, with different staff, at what point do the principals say, “Hey, maybe it’s US?”

    I don’t think he’s talking about Bernie Sanders.

  127. 127.

    Steve in the ATL

    @muddy:

    I would expect Bernie to win NH just out of regional pride, I don’t know that it says anything about the primary in general.

    This, combined with the small number of delegates at stake, means that this primary result will mean jackshit, just like Iowa’s did. And yet we will hear about it endlessly….

  130. 130.

    Gvg

    @David *Rafael* Koch: I think he was just noticing that the super pads are required to NOT be controlled by their actual “candidate”. At best it means some real armatures put out adds that make their supposed candidate look bad, he gets blamed by voters, and can’t do a darned thing about it. At worst it’s going to result in some real serious rat fucking. Just because you say you are for someone doesn’t mean you really are. Play along till the right moment then pretend to do some dump ads….no one gets to see the books either so I expect some of them to just take the money and run.
    I get that some of the Supreams court thought it would help the GOP, but I think they were idiots by all measures.

  131. 131.

    David *Rafael* Koch

    Marco Rubio Glitch ‏@RubioGlitch

    I’m glad the Broncos won but honestly this notion that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing is wrong. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

    2,820 retweets 3,203 likes

    Heh!

  132. 132.

    Chip Daniels

    @Mandalay:

    I wish nothing but misery and humiliation on Rubio. He’s far more than an empty suit. He’s a vile human being.

    Pace yourself.
    There is a lot more bile and invective to be spilt yet, and the campaign is still early.

    The environment is so target-rich, I am rationing my seething rage in short 3-round bursts.

  133. 133.

    jl

    @Turgidson: Good to hear from others that few Ohio Democrats would vote for Kasich now.

    My political instincts are not the best, but Kaish was the GOPer I feared the most in terms of producing a GOP win in November. But that was before I saw his odd campaign style.

  134. 134.

    gene108

    @Applejinx: @Gimlet:

    From your link Gimlet:

    “While the overall default rate remains at near-historic lows, there are growing pockets of distress,” Chief Executive Officer Scott Beiser said late Monday in a conference call discussing fourth-quarter results. “The amounts of new leveraged loans and high-yield debt issued has recently slowed, potentially impacting future opportunities for companies in need of refinancings.”
    Beiser said the rout includes energy companies rattled by low fuel prices, and retailers challenged by competition from online purchasing. The cost of protecting against default by junk-rated borrowers soared on Monday to the highest level since 2012, while oil slid to less than $30 a barrel. Houlihan Lokey has been hired in the past year to advise lenders to Arch Coal Inc., as well as bondholders of Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. and Magnum Hunter Resources Corp.

    ‘Growth Trends’

    “Our total number of active restructuring engagements as of Dec. 31, 2015, is now the highest since the Great Recession, and up over 25 percent from one year ago,” Beiser said. “While the recent growth trends are significant, to date, most of these new mandates reflect mid-cap-size debt levels. We still have not experienced the extraordinary large-size restructurings like we saw in the last economic downturn.”

    This is not a repeat of 2008. This is a problem with the energy sector and retail.

  137. 137.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    @Kay: Okay, but the problem isn’t Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager
    Yeah, I just don’t like him, and I have a hunch it’s not a coincidence that about the only “establishment” candidate of the last twenty plus years he didn’t work for is the Clintons.

    and that Axelrod tweet was…. interesting. I always said Hillary needed a Bubba wrangler. I nominate Begala.

  140. 140.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Kay: I meant to say yesterday, your son cracked me up by telling you that your theory is
    “not widely accepted. Because it’s insane.” That’s such a well-raised kid.

  141. 141.

    randy khan

    @Eric U.:

    we just gave Hillary money in December and now they are calling us all the time for more money. Sorry, it don’t work that way

    Long experience shows that your best bet for new contributions is the pool of people who’ve already contributed. It’s annoying if, like me, you decide how much to contribute and then are done, but it works enough to be worth the trouble.

  144. 144.

    muddy

    @Steve in the ATL: Last year there was some talk in Vermont that we should go first, so that it counts for more like it does in NH. When this arose, NH came out and said that VT couldn’t be first, because NH had a law that said they were to be first. Like a NH law is going to rule what Vermonters do, psh.

    But then once people got in the middle of thinking how we could grab all the $$, it was generally realized that then we would actually have all that bullshit going on here and all the stupid media peeps etc all over the place. Suddenly no one wanted to be first anymore. Keep away!!

    Reminded me of a bumper sticker that was popular here years ago, it said Welcome to Vermont – Now Go Home.

  147. 147.

    Anoniminous

    Why is everyone being mean to the poor little RuB2io? The thing is barely out of Beta and the O/S still needs some Real World testing and people are poking at, expecting signs of animatronic life.

  148. 148.

    gwangung

    @randy khan: Not just for politics, but for any non-profit.

    Though most non-profits have a keen ear not to lean too much on donors, either large or small.

  154. 154.

    David *Rafael* Koch

    Defending their father on Fox, Donald Trump’s sons Uday and Qusay say waterboarding is not that different from what happens on college campuses.

    4:29 PM – 8 Feb 2016

    69 Retweets
    52 Favorite

  155. 155.

    beltane

    Donald Trump promises to reform health care by going after the drug companies. He says they are going to “hate him.”

  156. 156.

    Eric U.

    @randy khan: oh, I know, the suckers that already contributed are the ones that you need to bother to get more money. It’s just that you should be able to say one and done and be left alone. We have been getting multiple calls per night. The guy tonight was whining like a 5 year old who missed his nap by the time I hung up on him.

    Next person that calls, I’m going to ask how to get our money back and see if that stops the calls

  158. 158.

    beltane

    @Eric U.: I have not donated to anyone this cycle, but I did donate frequently to the Obama ’08 primary campaign and bot of his general election campaigns. They never called me for money, though they frequently asked me to volunteer ( I sent the kids). The fundraising emails were pretty incessant and still are to this day.

  160. 160.

    gene108

    @Jim, Foolish LIteralist:

    Tad Devine, whose resume includes getting John Cornyn ( of Goldman Sachs, for those who don’t know) elected governor of New Jersey

    Think you meant John Corzine, retired CEO of Goldman Sachs, whose main accomplishment was taking the firm public.

  166. 166.

    Stacy

    OT Trump at his rally tonight, just called Cruz a pussy for not supporting torture in the last debate. Didn’t someone here lay a bet that he’d use that word or the n word sometime soon?

  167. 167.

    gene108

    @muddy:

    NH came out and said that VT couldn’t be first, because NH had a law that said they were to be first. Like a NH law is going to rule what Vermonters do, psh.

    Some state should hold their primary in November, a year before the election, and so by law NH would have to hold its primary earlier.

    Then another state should do it in October and New Hampshire would have to bump back its primary,

    And so on, until NH changes its law.

  169. 169.

    Kay

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    I’m depressed they didn’t knock out Kasich, one of those other Republicans.

    Imagine a Kasich v Clinton in Ohio. Pure horror. Everyone always tells me “they’ll never nominate X Republican because he supports Y, which is a deal breaker” and then they always nominate that (somewhat) electable person.

  171. 171.

    NotMax

    @Betty Cracker

    Hayes is so very, very young and so very, very prone to stretching terminology to try to fit his prepared narrative.

    Mark Rudd – anti-establishment.

    Bobby Seale – anti-establishment.

    Mario Savio – anti-establishment.

    Bernie Sanders isn’t within shouting distance of anti-establishment.

  172. 172.

    Eric U.

    @beltane: my wife didn’t ask me before she donated. The kids are berniebots, so she might want to watch her back. One really annoying thing is campaigns that respond to donations over the Internet with phone calls. For some reason, it doesn’t surprise me that Hillary is running such an old fashioned campaign. What’s next, scary postcards?

    Speaking of which, I just got a letter from Cruz, “dear fellow conservative” ha.

  175. 175.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Kay: People nationally have no idea how thin-skinned and nasty he is. If one of the others rattles him hard enough, the annoyed Kasich will be on full display.

    Q for people who know (otherwise) sane RW folks – how do they exist? I have a friend who is both brilliant and fanatically right wing. He seems too smart for that, but he told me the other day that Trump and Obama “are identical. Scratch the surface of either and it’s Il Duce underneath.” I just cannot understand the combination of intelligence and insanity. His wife is normal; they’re both psychologists and he is the more impressive intellect.

  176. 176.

    Mike J

    @NotMax:

    Bernie Sanders isn’t within shouting distance of anti-establishment.

    Planned Parenthood and Human Rights Campaign preferred other candidates because they’re part of the establishment. Doesn’t that make him anti-establishment?

  177. 177.

    beltane

    @Eric U.: Fundraising phone calls from any source tend to arouse suspicion in those of us under a certain age. Judging by the behavior of elderly relatives, they are a great way to target the senior crowd.

  179. 179.

    jl

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Baud! 2016! has survived rabies, distemper, and (miraculously) heart worm. Only a few physical and verbal tics betray the clinical history.

    What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

    Need to do something about the fleas before the gneral, but so far they seem to be going over well with his base. They think they show ‘authenticity’.

  181. 181.

    Kay

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    Kasich (allegedly) hired staff and has ad time in Nevada. What does that mean?

    Is it like… midwestern retirees he’s after? Golfers?

    Isn’t it a caucus? Do you think of him as someone one would caucus for? I can’t even imagine his supporters having that much energy. I think of them as vote by mail, frankly.

  182. 182.

    NotMax

    @Mike JNo.

    No more than my being unable to snag a reservation at the latest chi-chi eatery would define me as anti-restaurant.

  183. 183.

    Kay

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    People nationally have no idea how thin-skinned and nasty he is. If one of the others rattles him hard enough, the annoyed Kasich will be on full display.

    I know and you know but now he’s nicknamed himself The Happy Warrior and compared to the rest of the snarling mob on the debate stage he’s happy go lucky. I can’t believe it. I don’t recognize this person he’s invented.

  186. 186.

    catclub

    @jl:

    I guess that is worth a news story.

    I wonder if conservative websites are celebrating their version of Fitzmas. Remember that, when any minute now Dick Cheney was going to be indicted?

  188. 188.

    Anoniminous

    @Kay:

    Nevada caucuses are coming up on the 20th. IIRC, don’t mean a thing since the GOP state party officials granted themselves the power to appoint delegates to the national convention.

  191. 191.

    Peale

    @gene108: the 2024 New Hampshire Primary can be held in October, 2019. Why even bother to finish electing one president when you could start deciding on the next one.

  193. 193.

    catclub

    @Peale: I think it would be more fun for other states to make their primaries explicitly second – like close the polls 5 minutes after NH – and so force the same coverage as NH gets.

  197. 197.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    @dslak:

    There’s a little piece of me that wants to feel sorry for him but, happily, I’m managing to suppress it.

  199. 199.

    El Caganer

    @catclub: They’d be perfect together: “All the trees are just the right height, and Obama knows exactly what he’s doing.”

  200. 200.

    Anoniminous

    @Kay:

    damifino

    I don’t know if he is thinking ahead to 2020 or if he is running for the grift of it all or if he still thinks he has a shot.

    ETA: As completely & totally whacko as it seems to me: it’s looking like Trump will get their nom.

  202. 202.

    Anoniminous

    @Baud:

    Trump is leading in most of the states for which we have polling. I don’t think he has broken 40% anywhere, yet. But he doesn’t have to. As long as he is above 20% and nobody else is, he’s good to win the lot.

  203. 203.

    Kay

    @Anoniminous:

    I just don’t want Democrats to have to insanely defend the Great Lakes states. I can just hear Chris Matthews now. He’ll be talking about John Kasich bowling in Pennsylvania and his fantasy of “Reagan Democrats”.

  205. 205.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    @Kay: I’ve said before, Katich was Tweety’s original man-crush, before the Aqua-Velva, before the thrill up the leg, there was Katich. I think it was in the ’08 cycle, before he was elected gov (?), he was doing a bit of punditing for Willard, and he appeared on a talking head segment opposite Joan Walsh. He started on his “I’m just a green-eye shade son of a postman” schtick, and Walsh brought up his stint on Wall St. Katich started to respond but was drowned out by Tweety bellowing that he wouldn’t tolerate that kind of personal attack.

    On a show called “Hardball”

  206. 206.

    Anoniminous

    @Kay:

    Matthews is on drugs. There’s no frickin’ way we’ll lose PA. “Reagan Democrats” are (1) dead or (2) GOP voters, that was 32 years ago for god’s sakes.

  208. 208.

    Steve in the ATL

    @SIA: No, we are a national company. Most of our bargained employees make good money and I assume don’t want to share it with *those* people.

    I find it quite ironic that I, the union buster, am more liberal than the bulk of the union members. I suppose racism uber alles, as usual.

  209. 209.

    Kay

    @Jim, Foolish LIteralist:

    Katich started to respond but was drowned out by Tweety bellowing that he wouldn’t tolerate that kind of personal attack.

    Oh, it gets better:

    Kasich was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, an industrial town near Pittsburgh

    Pittsburgh! My God, we’ll never hear the end of it. They’ll swoon. Clinton will have to move to Scranton, maybe Joe Biden too.

  210. 210.

    David *Rafael* Koch

    @Anoniminous: he is bizarre. he was saying Dems will lose Connecticut if Trump is nominee. Dems won CT by 18 points in 2012 and they have won CT 6 consecutive times. The delusion that a wig wearing buffoon turns those circumstances around can only occur in a broken mind.

  211. 211.

    David *Rafael* Koch

    @Kay: I think they’re hiding his usual “my dad was a mailman” bit because the base hates unions and they hate everything involving the government

  213. 213.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    now he’s nicknamed himself The Happy Warrior

    Don’t forget he called himself the Prince of Light a couple weeks ago. There were more than a few raised eyebrows among local reporters afterward.

  214. 214.

    Kay

    @David *Rafael* Koch:

    He’s running nationally differently than he runs in Ohio, though. He’s the suburban candidate in Ohio. That’s his base. Ted Strickland got the voters he was supposed to get (enough) white working class/labor + AA+ the youngs. Kasich beat him with the suburbs + rural areas.

  215. 215.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    I’m hoping he’s too twitchy for a long campaign. Plus, he can’t talk. He doesn’t seem to have words at the ready. He doesn’t have a sufficient number and variety of words- not enough for an adult.

    I love how no one cares if he’s here or not. Usually you get that “where is our governor?!” fake-outage in newspapers. No one even bothers with that.

  216. 216.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    I love how no one cares if he’s here or not.

    All it would take is someone calculating just how much Kasich’s forays onto the national stage have cost Ohio voters, and then they’d care plenty.

  218. 218.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    But he’s been a weirdly distant and hands off governor, so you don’t notice he’s been gone for a year. I think he’s allowed the other state officeholders who are all insanely ambitious to create little fiefdoms where they’re all running their own shows. They’re all attention hounds and they’re all running for governor. I have never in my life been as up on the doings at the auditors, or the treasurers. I keep waiting for this massive scandal due to Kasich’s deep indifference to doing his job.

    He’d be a terrible President. He belongs in a legislative body.

  219. 219.

    Ruckus

    @Kay:
    He belongs in a legislative body
    I’m thinking more along the lines of a McD last shift asst. manager.
    Think he’d last more than 2 weeks?

  221. 221.

    J R in WV

    @SIA:

    Now, really, who dreamed this odd, sick fantasy up?

    You gotta tell us where this came from, if you have any clues.

  222. 222.

    J R in WV

    @singfoom:

    If you read that list of locations, you will see that several of our most powerful Carrier Squadrons are currently gifted to Arab potentates!

    So there, Obama is giving us to the Muslims!! It’s a done deal!!

    /snark

    Some of the carrier groups are in and around the Persian Gulf, to help deal with ISIS, or whatever the current name of Arab terrorism is today.

    True fact, sometimes our Navy participates in warfare! Even not just off the east coast of North America.

  223. 223.

    boatboy_srq

    @SIA:

    All of a sudden, there is an ammunition shortage in the USA.

    Well, THAT part is easily explained by the Bundys and the other ammosexuals reading rants like that one…

    Is whatever that person has treatable?

  225. 225.

    boatboy_srq

    @singfoom: Easy: The. Earth. Is. Flat. Ever notice that geography is not especially heavily weighted in schooling – especially now that STEM (or “Training Our Next Generation of High-Tech Serfs”) is in vogue? These idjits can hardly find their own state on a map of North America, let alone anyplace else on the planet. And a goodly portion of them fall into the (unsurprisingly high) percentage of US residents who have no plans to travel outside the US because there’s nothing outside the United States worth seeing. It’s tempting to believe that Li’l Macro’s insistence that BHO wants to make the US “like the rest of the world” resonates because his audience can’t visualize a “rest of the world” bigger than California.

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